If you are human I imagine that you have wished at some pointÂ that some part of your life was different, better, improved, or non-existant. I have been dealing with this in a multitude of area’s in my life this month! I wish I could say week, but no, it has been a month of wishing. You see life is very different from what we read as children in fairy tales. Life has bumps, detours, and pitfalls. We are in one of those bumpy, detour times right now. It is stressful and irritating at the least of timesÂ and overwhelming most all of the time. I would list everything out but, why? Everyone goes through hard times why list them out. To WOW, my friends, enlist sympathy or play one-upmanship. None of that is going to help me or us overcome or at the very least get through the bumps. So I will on the other hand, list the blessings that we have experienced in this time.

We have a roof over our heads.

We are able to pay for the payments.

We have had an emergency fund to tide us through financial hard times. Thank you Dave Ramsey and My DH who insisted that we take the class 18 months ago.

We have 4 beautiful, energetic, loving, caring children that are in the process of finding their wings. Making mistakes is part of finding your wings!

We have a great capacity for work.

Our oldest has two jobs and is working hard to pay for his college and other expenses.

Our garden is thriving! Yay, fresh tomatoes on their way.

Our parents are enjoying good health andÂ life.

We have an over abundance of stuff.

God is providing everything we need and then a bunch more

We are involved in a loving, growing, caring church family.

Our youngest DD madeÂ the bestÂ eternal decision this past week!

Due to some dietary changes we are losing some much needed weight, about 20 pounds in three weeks. Yahoooo! Boy and I relieved and pleased.

So, while we are in a challenging season of our lives, many things are going well. Many things are going great and wonderful! Just some of the little details that I would love to have resolved soon. Thankfully, it is not in my timing or I would never grow stronger in my faith or my walk. As my mother used to say, “We aren’t raising hothouse flowers”, meaning that in order to grow strong you have to deal with strife!

Talk to you later,

Hmmm, I am not so down about things now! Thanks for letting me vent in a small way.

In an effort to motivate myself to create some new bags/totes/purses I am going to talk to you today about how I find my fabric to make my purses. Many of my purses are upcycled, this means they started life as clothing or linens.Â Well frankly, I go on the hunt and actively look for it. I have a favorite resale shopÂ close to home. They have upscale clothing that has been barely worn and may still have the tags on it. I often find things in either the smaller or larger sizes as people gain or loose weight.Â I look for interesting patterns, embroidery, and trims. I prefer clothing from Talbots, Â Coldwater Creek and other stores like that. The fabric is usually a good quality and the people that shop there update their wardrobe more frequently. Therefore, the clothes have less wear and the colors are more current. I love the feel of the handmade purses and totes. The fabric speaks to me on many different levels.Â

Â Â Â Â Being a fabricaholic, I look for something that strikes a chord within me. Either the colors or the Â pattern will speak to me. When I buy it I might already have an idea of what it will look like. I might just like the fabric and know that it will make a cool bag, or that I can use it with something that I already have.

Upcycling is a fun exercise for the imagination. There is upcycling, repurposing, reusing, whatever you call it that screams upcycling. Then there is the upcycling that allows you peace of mind but isn’t noticeable to everyone else. Pants purses, scream upcycling to me. I mean, can you be anymore obvious that these items once had another life?

These tote bags and purses allow you to upcycle without looking like you are upcycling. So upcycling will fit all life styles. Once the clothing item is chosen then begins the transformation. I start by washing the clothing item and deconstructing the clothing to get large flat pieces of fabric. I usually let it sit in my craft room while I ponder the end use and fabrics to match. I will talk to you more about this later this week.